Is another ‘teachers caucus’ in the works?

By Ben Felder The Oklahoman

Monday

Jul 10, 2017 at 6:39 AMJul 10, 2017 at 7:23 AM

OKLAHOMA CITY (TNS) — Despite a largely unsuccessful effort last year by dozens of teachers who ran in state legislative races, the 2018 election cycle could see another wave of educators on the ballot.

Dubbed the “teachers caucus,” more than 30 current or former teachers ran for state House and Senate seats in 2016 on platforms of higher teacher pay and education funding.

But while it might be too early to predict a teachers caucus 2.0, there are already a handful of educators who have announced campaigns for upcoming state races.

“The Legislature has no clue what it looks like and feels like in a classroom,” said Carri Hicks, a fourth-grade teacher who is running as a Democrat in Oklahoma City’s Senate District 40. Hicks grew up in Bartlesville.

After an initial career in the nonprofit sector, Hicks went back to school to become an elementary teacher. She teaches math and science at Deer Creek’s Grove Valley Elementary.

“It was inspiring and upsetting all at the same time,” Hicks said about the large number of teachers who ran for office in 2016, but were mostly defeated.

Many of last year’s teacher candidates fell victim to the harsh political realities of running for legislative office in Oklahoma, where incumbents are hard to beat, districts are deeply partisan and newcomers often face disadvantages in funding and name recognition.

Some of those who helped promote last year’s teachers caucus effort are already working to recruit new candidates and some of those who lost have announced they will run again.

Recent vacancies in the Legislature have led to several special elections in the coming months and some include teacher candidates, including House District 76, where Republican Brian Elliott, a math teacher at Union High School in Tulsa, is running in next month’s primary.

“I see where education has gone because I am in it,” Elliott said. “I see teachers struggling, teachers leaving the profession.”

Elliott said the focus of his campaign is improving the work conditions of teachers and increasing classroom resources.

“Our teachers are frustrated because they don’t feel appreciated,” Elliott said. “You have to tell teachers they are important and they are valued because there is not that sense out there right now. There is not a sense that education is important in the state of Oklahoma.”

Jacob Rosecrants, a geography teacher at Roosevelt Middle School in south Oklahoma City, lost to incumbent Rep. Scott Martin last year in House District 46.

However, Martin’s resignation this year created an open seat and Rosecrants quickly announced he was running again.

“The better plan for teacher pay and education never came out of the Legislature this year,” said Rosecrants, who is the lone Democrat running in the special election slated for September.

Rosecrants believes he built a strong foundation during last year’s campaign and views a win as something that could motivate other teachers.

“If I can win I can bring the experience of an underfunded teacher candidate running and successfully getting in,” Rosecrants said. “Maybe it would cause other teachers to step up for next year.”

Educators running for office say they can bring a unique perspective to the Legislature, but there is also a sense that an election victory would be a morale boost for many teachers.

“You need to win every once in a while to motivate the troops,” said Elliott, referring to Oklahoma teachers. “But when you feel like you are losing all the time, it kind of tears out your heart.”

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